Carrier carton



Aug 3 1965 c. GlsH ETAL 3,198,380

CARRIER CARTON ATTORNEY Aug- 3 1955 L. c. GlsH ETAL 3,198,380

CARRIER CARTON Filed 0G12- 4, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent i() 3,198,380 CARRIER CARTON Lyman C. Gish, Rittman, Ohio, and William H. Finclrel,

Jr., Washington, D.'C., assignors to Packaging Corporation of America, Evanston, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 4, 1962, Ser. No. 228,377 4 Claims. (Ci. 220-115) This invent-ion relates to article carrier cartons, and it has special reference to comp-artmented paperboard carriers, primari-ly for .bottle goods, of the types shown -generally in the patents of the applicant Lyman C. Gish No. 2,996,216, `granted Aug-ust '15, 196-1, No. 3,037,661, granted June 5, 1962, and No. 3,037,662, granted lune 5, 1962; andin the patents of Michael H. Kowal No. 2,692,700, granted October 26, 1954, and No. 2,712,397, granted July 5, 1955, although differing therefrom in some major .structural features of design and assembly, and it embodies, also, structural modifications of the carrier carton forming the subject of the application of the said Lyman C. Gish for Carrier Carton, filed September 5, 1962, Ser. No. 221,476, now Patent No. 3,115,273, granted December 24, 1963.

One object of the invention is to provide an article carrier which is formed from fiat-folded and glued paperhoard blank means, and which, when erected to articlereceiving condition will provide a plurality of separate compartments for the -articles arranged in two rows longitudinally of the carrier and thus sepa-rated by a comhined partition and carrying handle, and the individual articles of such two rows being separated from each other hy transverse partition elements which extend between the respective side Walls and combined partition and handle, said transverse partition elements and combined longitudinal partition and handle `being of the so-called fu-ll depth type as distinguished from those of strap, or abbreviated panel, type, thus serving to provide adequate complete separation of .the articles within the car- Iier, and this is of particular desirability when the articles are bottles.

As Will be apparent from an examination of applicants .patent hereinbefore referred to, carriers of this type, broadly considered, are now Well known and in rather general commercial use, but the 'blanks from which they are formed are of somewhat complicated design requiring cuts and folding scores of such relatively intricate pattern that the planning and construction assembly of the cutting and scoring die means involve considerable in production costs. It is therefore a further object of the invention to reduce production costs, and consequently the selling price of carriers of this type by simplifying not only the blank means per se but also the blank cutting and scoring operation and the blank assembling, folding and gluing operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide means, associated with the transverse partition element-forming means, which serve to impart reinforcement to the carrying handle, :the reinforcement thus provided serving further to simplify the construction and production of 'the blank, and its assembly to hat-folded and glued form, Vand hence resulting, in some respects, in furthe-r production economies.

With these and other objects and advantages in view, it Will be apparent from the following description that the carrier carton of lthe invention comprises multiple blank .means including a main blank element which has defined therein, by cuts' and folding scores, a bottom, side and end walls and a combined partition and carrying hand-le, and supplemental blankV means so cut and scored as to provide transverse partition-.forming elements with means for .their attachment both to the side 3,198,3@0 Patented Aug. 3, 1965 Walls and the combined partition and handle of the main blank element, and also With means juxtaposed to predetermined areas of those portions of the vblank which form the carrying yhandle 4and serving to reinforce the carrying handle; said main blank element and supplemental blank means being united in tiet-folded and glued assembly vby relatively simple positioning, folding and gluing operations performed on standard types .of machines, all as will `be explained hereinafter more particularly and finally claimed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Y

FiG. 1 is a plan view of the inner face of a preferred form of the main blank element of the carton,

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing the supplemental blank means properly applied to the main blank element, l

FiG. 3 shows the parts illustrated in FIG. 2, subsequent to performance thereon of the first three folding and gluing operations, I

FIG. 4 shows the completely hat-folded and glued carton, Y

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the carton in its erected condition,

FIG. 6 is a perspective ViewA showing the manner in which the supplementalV blank means assume their partition-forming and handle reinforcing disposition in the setup carton, and

FlGS. 7 and'S are views similar to FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively, but illustrating a modied form of supplemental blank means. l

Having reference to FIG. 1 it will be seen that the main blank element'includes a bottom comprising halves 1 and 2 relatively flat-foldable upon a score 3. The outer edges of the bottom halvesV 1 Vand 2 are joined on folding scores 4 and 5, respectively, to side Walls 6 and 7, having hinged to the opposite ends thereof on folding scores 8, 9 and 10, 11, respectively, end Wall halves 12, 13 and 14, 15 provided, respectively, with glue iiaps 16, 17 and 18, 19, joined thereto on folding scores 2t), 21 and 22, 23, respectively.

Lying in the plane of the blank and joined to the glue :tiaps 13 and 15 on the scores 21 and 23, respectively, are handle members 24 and 25 which serve also `as parts of the longitudinal partition and are separable from the adjoined side walls 6 and '7, and end wall halves 12, 13 and 14, 15 on lines of cuts and perforations 26 and 27, respectively. These handle members are provided with similar hand or finger holes 28 and 29, respectively, which mate when the blank is given its final fold during the folding and gluing operation, and the handle member 24 is provided with a finish glue flap 30 then joined to the handle member 25 as is customary.

Carried by the glue liap 18 upon a diagonal folding score 31, and separable therefrom, and from adjacent elements of the blank upon cuts 32, 33, 34 and 35, is a partition panel 36, which, in the nished folded and gluedV assembly of the blank, forms, with the joined handle members 24 and 25, and glue flaps 1,6, 17, 18 and 19, a full depth longitudinal partition.` It will be noted that the ultimate bottom edges of the glue flaps 16 and 18 are so cut as to provide hook means 37 and 38 which, when ultimately glued together provide a hook for engagement with the edge of the bottom deiined by the cut 34. Y

Having reference to FIGS. 2 and 6, it Will be seen that the supplemental blank means, Which may be made in rights and lefts or merely reversed face for face to accommodate them to the side walls 6 and 7, comprise normally flat elements 39' and 40 provided with cuts and folding scores deiining transverse partition elements 41, 42 and 43, 44, respectively, and glue iiaps 45, 46, 47, 4S, 49 and 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, respectively, the folding scores 55, 56, 57, and 53, 59, 60, respectively, providing the means on which hinging movement of the partition elements 41, 42 and 43, 44 between'the side walls 6 and 7 and the combined handle and longitudinal partition may take place when the carton is erected from flat-folded to usable condition.

Extending outwardly from the glue flaps 48 and 53, the outer longitudinal edges of which border the inner edges of the hand holes 28 and 29, respectively, and juxtaposed to adjacent areas of lthe handle members 24 and 25, respectively, are integral handle reinforcing elements 61 and 62 having their respective edges 63 and 64 bordering, and in alignment with, the underlying respective end edges of the handle members 24 and 25, and these reinforcing members 61 and 62 may preferably carry longitudinal extensions 65 and 66, respectively, with their inner edges bordering the respective adjacent outer edges of the'hand holes 28 and 29 and serving, with the glue flaps 48 and 53, to strengthen the handle members in areas adjacent to such hand holes in the presence of lifting strain.

In the modification illustrated in FIGS. 7 and S the sup plemental blanks are generally similar in form, function and mode of assembly to those of FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, but the extensions 65 and 66 of the latter are dispensed with.

Moreover, it will be noted, particularly by reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 7 and 8, that the reinforcing elements 61 and 62 having their edges 63 and 64 bordering, and in alignment with, the adjacent edges of the handle members 24 and 25, serve, in the completely folded and glued carton, to provide desired rigidity to the carrying handle and a four-thickness edge comparable to the edge at the opposite end of the handle which is formed by the doubled thicknesses of the handle members 24 and 25 and their' respective glue aps 17 and 19.

In assembling the blank elements and accomplishing their flat folding and gluing into a unitary, easily erectable carrier carton, it will be apparent, by reference to FIGS. 2 to 6, that the supplemental blanks 39 and 40 are so positioned upon the side walls 6 and 7 that their folding scores 55, 56 and 5S, 59, respectively, lie on imaginary lines which divide these side walls into thirds (this carton being designed to carry six articles in two rows of Application of the adhesive is indicated in broken outline in FIGS. 2 and 7, and by stippling in FIG. 6.

Next, adhesive is applied to the reinforcing elements 61 and 62, and the end wall members 12 and 14 are folded upon their respective scores 8 and 10 so that the glue flaps 16 and 18 overlie these elements 61 and 62 and are adhesively secured to them, and the glue flaps 17 and 19 are folded upon their respective scores 21 and 23 and adhesively secured to underlying areas of the handle members 24 and 25, all as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 8.

Now, with adhesive applied tothe glue iiaps 52, 52 and 54 of the supplemental blank 40, the partition panel 36 is folded upon its diagonal score 31-over and against underlying parts and is adhered to theY said flaps 52, 52 and 54 and, at its edges, to the main glue flaps 18 and 19 to which adhesive may be applied, also as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 8.

Y Finally, with adhesive applied to the exposed surfaces of the glue flaps 16, 17, 18 and 19, to the exposed surfaces of the glue flaps 47, 48 and 49 of blank 39 and to its extension 65, as shown by stippling in FIG. 3, the main 4 blank is folded on the median score 3 of the bottom 1-2 to secure the glue flaps 16, 1S and 17, 19 and the handle and longitudinal partition parts together, and with the nnish iiap Sil secured to the proximate edge portion of the handle member 25, all as shown in FIG. 4.

Obviously, where the longitudinal extensions and 66 are omitted from the supplemental blanks 39 and 40, as best shown in FIG, 7, adhesive will be applied to the exposed areas of the handle member 24, as shown in FIG. 8.

The thus fiat-folded and adhesively assembled carton may be squared up to usable form, as shown in FIG. 5, simply by the application of pressure to the opposite edges a and b (FIG. 4) of the blank, and engagement of the edge 34 of the bottom 1 2 with the hook formed by the adhesively joined hook means 3'7, 3S.

The positions assumed by the parts of a supplemental blank, upon erection ofthe carton, are well shown in FIG. 6 in which the presence of adhesive is also shown by broken outlines, where concealed, and by stippling, where in view.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection With .the disclosure of the drawings, it will be apparent that the invention provides carrier cartons which are of strong construction, of attractive appearance, particularly when artistically ornamented by printing, Iand relatively inexpensive to produce as compared with carriers for similar purposes now known.

As previously stated hereinbe'fore, the main blanks are of simple construction and require for their production a minimum .area of paperboard and a minimum of cuts yand folding sco-res, the latter serving to greatly simplify the assembly and number of operative elem-ents necessary to provide proper cutting and scoring ldie means. Also, the supplemental blanks, which may be referred to as .patches applied to the main blank, can be formed from scrap paperboard material, thus making for further economy.

Furthermore, the fact that the cartons of the invention may be assembled on standard types of folding and gluing machines having provision for the feed-ing and registered gluing of applied patches or the like, or on machines to which such feeding, registering and gluing mechanisms may be added within the .general operative concepts of 'the machines, makes for still further economy in production and hence in cost to the consumer.

Various changes and modifications are considered to be within the principle of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What we claim is:

I1. A carrier carton, comprising main blank means, and supplemental blank means of patch form initially separate from 'said main blank means; said main blank means including as relatively foldable integral elements a bottom, side and end walls, and a handle member which is provided with a finger hole and is disposed in spaced rci `lation to said side wall: and said supplemental blank means comprising a handle reinforcing element of less area than .the handle member and having pants secured to the handle member both longitudinally and vertically thereof in areas adjacent to the perimeter of said finger hole, transverse partition means integrail with said reinforcing element and hingedly connected ,therewith `and disposed to span the space between said handle member and side wall, and securing means comprising glue flaps integral with and hingedly carried by said transverse partition means at their ends remote from said handle member and individuallyY secured to said side wall and serving to foldably join the ends of said partition means to said side wall.

2. A carrier carton as defined in claim 1, in which said supplemental blank means includes two rtransverse partition elements and is adapted to divide the said space into three compartments- 3. A carrier carton, comprising mainiblank means, and a pair of supplemental blank means of patch form initially separate from said main blank means; said main blank means including as relatively foldable integral elements a bott-0m, side Walls, and end Walls, land a handle member which is provided with a linger hole and is disposed substantially medially of said end walls and serves to divide the space between said side Walls into two similar compartments: one of the pair of said supplemental blank means being disposed at each side of said handle member and each comprising as an integral part thereof a handle reinforcing element of less area than the handle member and having parts secured to the handle member beth longitudinally and vertically .thereof .in .areas adjacent to the perimeter yof said linger hole, transverse partition means hingedly integral With each of said reinforcing elements and disposed respeotivelyftransversely of said compartments and spanning the spaces the-rein .between said handle member and said side Walls, and securing means comprising glue iiaps integral with and 'hingedly carried by 4said transverse pantition means a-t their ends remote from said handle member and individually secured to said side walls and serving to foldably join the ends of said partition means t0 said side Walls.

4. A carrier carton as defined in claim 3, in which the supplemental blank means at Veach side yof said combined partition and handle member includes `two tnansverse partition elements and is adapted to divide the spa-ce between said side .and the adjacent `side wall into three compartments.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS y2,63 0,264 3/5'3 Holy 220-113 X 2,662,683 i12/5?,v Buttery 220-113 2,984,383 5/6`1 Arneson 220-113 3,010,603 1`1 /61 Arneson 220-113 3,031,100 4/'62 Bundy 220-1 13 3,03 7,661 `6/62 Gish 2:20-113 FOREIGN PATENTS 5 72,442 y 11/5 8 Belgium.

`TOSEPH R. LECLA'IR, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, FRANKLIN T. GARR-ETT,

Examiners. 

1. A CARRIER CARTON, COMPRISING MAIN BLANK MEANS, AND SUPPLEMENTAL BLANK MEANS OF PATCH FORM INITIALLY SEPARATE FROM SAID MAIN BLANK MEANS; AND SAID MAIN BLANK MEANS INCLUDING AS RESPECTIVELY FOLDABLE INTEGRAL ELEMENTS A BOTTOM, SIDE AND END WALLS, AND A HANDLE MEMBER WHICH IS PROVIDED WITH A FINGER HOLE AND IS DISPOSED IN SPACED RELATION TO SAID SIDE WALL: AND SAID SUPPLEMENTAL BLANK MEANS COMPRISING A HANDLE REINFORCING ELEMENT OF LESS AREA THAN THE HANDLE MEMBER AND HAVING PARTS SECURED TO THE HANDLE MEMBER BOTH LONGITUDINALLY AND VERTICALLY THEREOF IN AREAS ADJACENT TOI THE PERIMETER OF SAID FINGER 